rried in, and old Mary shook her head at the scent of the
spirits, but assisted willingly till my charge was laid upon the bed,
the cabman and his companion dismissed, and then the doctor was
fetched."

"Hah!" ejaculated Stratton, as he wiped the great drops of sweat from
his brow.

"You are faint," said Brettison anxiously.

"Sick almost unto death," said Stratton hoarsely.

The old man rose and crossed to an old brass-bound cellarette, which he
opened.

"No, no," cried Stratton excitedly; "go on, man, go on. You are
torturing me. Let me know the worst--or the best," he cried with a
bitter laugh. "Ought I to wish his life to be saved, and, know that I
am not a murderer?"

"A man is no murderer who slays another in defence of his own life,"
said Brettison calmly, getting out an old spirit decanter and glasses.

"Leave that," cried Stratton, pushing away the glass his friend placed
before him. "Go on--go on!"

"No," said Brettison sternly; "you need the stimulus now."

"Man, have you no feeling for me at such an anguish point as this?"

"Man, have you no feeling for one who is old and infirm, and who has
shortened his poor share of life in his efforts to save you from the
misery of your lot?"

"Forgive me," groaned Stratton. "I am not what I was, Brettison."

"No man could go through such a crucial passage in his life and come out
the same," was the quiet reply. "There, drink that. I do not indulge
in these things, as you know; but I am faint, and it is hard work to
collect one's thoughts."

He poured out two little glasses of the contents of the old decanter,
and drank one--Stratton, whose temples were throbbing, and whose hand
trembled in a palsied way, following his example.

"Now," he said, "go on. I am in misery."

"You must know all. I must tell it in my own way, for my mind is
confused all through with doubts as to whether I was right in keeping
you in ignorance of all this. I did not see it before; I do see it
now."

He looked upon Stratton's worn and aged face with a look full of pity
and compunction.

"I acted for the best, my boy," he said--"I acted for the best; but I
feel that I have been, in my zeal, half-mad. Still at such a time a man
cannot be cool-blooded, and act as he would after longer thought."

Then, as he saw Stratton's hands raised:

"The doctor came, saw the patient, and made his examination carefully,
ending by applying proper bandages to the wound, while Bar